Adventures With The New And Viral
by Inuyashagirl7692
Summary: Simoun finds himself captured by beast men twenty years after he defeated the Anti-Spirals. This is mostly par for the course. Usually, he'd break out, knock some heads, and find an escape pod, but this time... there's a boy in the pod next to him he needs to save. A boy who looks just like he once did. HIATUS


The green pod lights illuminated the laboratory with the glow of phosphorescent algae. Inside the lab, beastmen worked at a frantic pace in the dim light. The two specially made pods held two very different specimens. The one farthest from the exit, held a man in his early 40's. His clothes appeared ragged and worn by weather and time. The cloak he wore billowed around him in the water filled pod, lending him the ethereal quality of an avenging spirit. Bright, angry eyes looked down on the beastmen as they worked to transfer his memories and personality to the boy in the adjacent container.

_What would Aniki do if he were in this predicament? He'd probably scream out his manly defiance, "WHO DO YOU BASTARDS THINK I AM?!," gather up his Spiral power, head-butt the glass, and… get a headache of epic proportions. I guess I could just try to use the drill bit in my pocket to break the glass._

While Simon tried to think of a way to fight off the five or six beastmen without his staff, the beaver like beast man Simon had been ignoring for the past hour continued to boast about his triumph, superiority, and good looks.

"For decades, the beastmen have been under the subjugation of you humans thanks to your infernal uprising. You just had to go and save the world. Be the hero. Well, let me tell you something, the humans may think you're a hero, but the beastmen do not. We used to rule over you swine like the filthy animals you are, but then you turned the tables, and now the humans treat us like garbage. You think you're so much better than us because your skin is naked, but let me tell you something else", his voice rose a few octaves, "chicks dig the fur!"

Simoun couldn't help but wink at the little guy before he brought the drill bit out of his pocket, and placed it on the glass.

_Who do you think you are?_

"I am Simoun. Brother to Kamina, husband to Nia, and friend to many. WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK _YOU_ ARE?!" He focused his will until Spiral energy swirled around his hand, and then he smashed it against the drill bit. The glass shattered with a shock wave large enough to knock every beast man in the surrounding area off his feet. Brushing glass off his broad shoulders, Simoun looked down at the destruction he had created and congratulated himself on a job well done.

"So, from what I've heard so far, you guys planned to use that kid in the next pod who-" he paused for a second, as he caught his first glimpse of the beast boy's face. "who looks exactly like I did when I was his age, to get close to my friends, and exact your revenge on the people who threw you out of power. Am I right?" The beast men all nodded. Simoun grinned back at them, "Out of all the people you could capture and taunt, I can't believe you idoits were unlucky enough to capture _me._" The drill, still in Simon's hand, suddenly grew to ten times its size. "GIGAA! DRRILL! BREEAAKERR!" With one swing of his drill, six beast men were sent flying into the walls. One of them flew into the screen of the command computer, cracking it. The smell of burnt fur, metal, and the acrid smell of smoke filled the air, making it harsh on the lungs, as well as the nose.

Simoun didn't stop to marvel this time. He hurried to the boy in the other capsule. There was a control panel beside it but he didn't know the password.

The cracked screen began to countdown to the ship's self-destruction. Green and red lights pulsed with the rhythm of frantic heartbeats. With only five minutes to spare, Simoun was running out of time.

"That password was incorrect. Please punch in the correct password." He tried punching it.

"Password accepted."

The capsule opened with a hissing sound, allowing Simoun to get his first good look at the boy. He was as tall as Simoun himself, yet he still held the slenderness of youth. Long midnight hair fell almost to his waist. If it were not for some fur on his body, and his delicate feline ears, the boy might have passed for human. The breathing mask slipped from the boy's face easily before he fell out of the capsule. Simoun made sure he caught him. Curiously, Simoun checked to see if he had a tail before he swung his cloak around the boy's shoulders. He did!

Simoun started speaking to him. "I know you probably can't understand me, but my name is Simoun. I'm going to get you out of here."

A sudden pain, sharp and deep, pierced Simoun's stomach. He gritted his teeth. People didn't survive this kind of pain, and the only one who could have caused it was… The beastboy looked up at him with Simoun's face. His eyes were more wolf like than human, but they held no malice in them. Not even intent to kill. Looking at him, he barely even seemed conscious. Simoun looked down to see the boy's arm entrenched in him almost up to his elbow. With a grimace, he noted, "This is going to make it a lot harder for me to save you."

A choked laugh drew Simoun's attention to the command computers. The beastman who had been taunting previously, boasted, "Idiot. We may not have finished transferring your personality and memories, but the order to kill you was installed in his subconscious before we even thought of luring you here with your pet!"

Simoun calmy replied, "Speaking of my _friend_, Boota, where is he?" The beastman stopped looking so smug. A small furry animal jumped onto Simoun's shoulder, before it began tearfully brushing its whiskers against his cheek. Some of the drops hit Simouns's face. He felt himself smile, both at the reunion and at the reminder that he had been lucky enough to have such a loyal friend for almost his whole life. "I missed you too, buddy. It would have been nice if you had let me know you escaped a little sooner. I was worried about you." Boota noticed the small stream of his friend's blood flowing down the clone's arm, and hissed at the boy. "Now don't be like that. That boy is my son." Boota managed to look at him tearfully and skeptically at the same time. Simoun just shrugged his shoulders, and turned his attention back to his clone. "Hey, kid, I'm going to pick you up and put you in the nearest escape pod. It would help if you didn't remove your hand, or stab me anymore while I do, okay?"

"Who are you?" answered the husky voice of the clone. It was probably the first time the beast boy had used his voice, but Simoun was reminded of Viral. Maybe it was the teeth.

"That's funny. Most beastmen, not all but most, know who I am before they try to kill me. But then you aren't like most beast men." Strong arms wrapped around the tall beastboy, and lifted him into the air. He was surprisingly light, or he would have been to a man who wasn't gravely injured.

"Why not?"

Simoun thought about that question while he navigated his way through the debris and unconscious creatures. "What is your name?" Answering the question with another question seemed to be the best course of action.

"I have no name", replied the boy.

Simoun grimaced slightly against the pain, before answering, "Well then, you'll have to meet someone who can give you one. That person will become a part of your life, and teach you many wonderful things". He hesitated, before continuing, "I'm sorry I can't be that person for you." Simoun opened the door to the escape pod with one hand, and place the boy in it. His arm slid from Simoun's chest wound, but the skin seemed almost reluctant to let it go.

"Why is my arm in your chest?", the boy inquired, staring at his limb like it was a curious foreign object.

"You know, I asked myself the same question when I first noticed." A small sucking sound followed the removal of the arm, before blood gushed from the wound. Simoun greyed at an alarmingly rate.

Boota whined and struggled, but Simoun tenderly forced him into the escape pod. A small mole rat could fit with one passenger, but a grown man could not. As the door began to close, the beast boy asked, "Aren't you coming with us?" A hint of bewildered panic crept into his voice. He was beginning to wake up, the older man realized.

Simoun laughed. "You're a hundred years too young to be worried about me, boy. This actually works out perfectly. It was about time I saw my Aniki again. Make sure you take care of my friend and here!" A drill bit flew through the narrow space between the door and the wall. "Keep it. May it keep you and those you come to care about safe from harm. As far as I'm concerned, you _are_ my son. Take care of yourself and find your own path to follow!" The door closed with a final thud. Simoun launched it into space with the last of his strength, before collapsing among those he had defeated. He watched the seconds tick away on the countdown until-

_"YO! Simoun!" A boisterous voice broke into Simoun's thoughts. A broad shouldered, blue haired teen bounded towards him with the never-ending enthusiasm of youth. Simoun opened his arms for a hug, but Kamina whacked him upside the head, "Who gave you permission to die, you moron?"_

_"I don't want to hear that from someone I outlived by over two decades." Simoun retorted. He was mildly surprised to find his youth had been restored. He was a teen again. Luckily, he was still old enough to have gone through puberty, and was still taller than Kamina._

_"Oh? Is that anyway to talk to the aniki you haven't seen in years?"_

_"Right. Sorry, Aniki." Kamina folded his arms and smiled. "Come here" He pulled Simoun into a close hug. _

_"It's been a long time, Aniki."_

_"Yeah. Sorry about that, but for your sake, I wish it had been longer."_

_"I'm happy with the life I lived."_

_Kamina grinned again, the grin of a boy who would never grow older._

_"If you're happy now, you're going to be ecstatic soon." Simoun wondered what he meant for a moment before seeing a beautiful blue haired girl over his shoulder. Kamina stepped away to give them some privacy._

_She was as beautiful as she had been the day he'd married her. The day he'd lost her. She approached him shyly, as if she was unsure how to act around him after all this time. Unable to wait, he ran forward and embraced her. He felt his hands touch her hair, and whispered, "This isn't a dream. This warmth isn't imagined. You're really here. You're really with me. These arms of mine… you're really in them again, Nia." He felt her smile. Her tears felt warm against his cheek. Holding her again, he felt a happiness he had long forgotten._

_Nia looked into his eyes, the smile he loved plain on her face, and said-_

The countdown reached zero.

_…Welcome home._


End file.
